Disposable bottle holder



J. A; PURVIS 3,402,910

DISPOSABLE BOTTLE HOLDER I Sept. 24, 1968 Filed Sept. 29, 1966 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,402,910 DISPOSABLE BOTTLE HOLDER James A. Purvis, Indianapolis, Ind., assignor to Creative Packaging, Incorporated Filed Sept. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 582,853 4 Claims. (Cl. 248318) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A disposable and integral bail and collar for a bottle formed from a strip of sheet material in which the strip is divided into two segments by a crease line, the first segment forming a collar and the second segment extending through said collar and connecting its free end to an opposite point on the collar to form a bail.

This invention relates to a support for bottles and in particular to an integral bail and strap for pharmaceutical bottles such as those used in intravenous feeding.

Certain types of pharmaceutical bottles including intravenous bottles employ a circu mferentital ridge near their base. This ridge is used to support a bail arrangement needed to suspend the bottle upside down from a hook. Bails of the prior art have usually been formed from metal. Such bails have comprised a snug-fitting collar which abuts the ridge of the bottle and a wire bail connected to the collar. The assembly of such metal collars and bails appears to be relatively simple but, in fact, has encountered some difiiculties. The main difficulty is that the collar, being made out of lightweight sheet metal, and the bail, being made from thin wire, necessarily have sharp edges which can cut the fingers of the person assembling the collar and bail on a bottle. In addition, if the rigid collar and bail are mounted on a bottle prior to packing a number of the bottles in a carton, the bail will not always collapse sufficiently to provide a compact and tight carton. Another disadvantage of a metal collar and hail pertains to their cost.

Attempts have been made to form collars and bails for intravenous bottles from a plastic material. In particular, polyethylene has been used to form an integral collar and bail. However, the excessive mold costs in forming supports of this type have prevented them from being widely used.

The collar and bail of my invention is formed from a sheet material of a plastic composittion such as vinyl or some other polymeric compound. By forming the collar and bail from a sheet material the cost of expensive molds is eliminated since the collar and bail may be cut out by a conventional die. Furthermore, the collar and hail may be formed from a single strip of material which eliminates unnecessary expense in throwing away excess stock material. In general, the bail and collar of my invention comprise a single strip having a crease Which divides it into a first segment forming the collar and a second segment forming the bail. The bail segment is formed by passing it through a slot in the collar and locking it therewith. The free end of the bail is connected to an opposite point on the collar segment which is now in a loop form.

It is therefore one object of this invention to provide a new and improved bail and collar for the suspension of bottles.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved bail and collar formed from sheet material.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved bail and collar formed from a single strip of resilient tear-resistant sheet material.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new 'ice and improved integral bail and collar of low cost which may be assembled on a bottle without causing injury to the assembler.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent upon reading the following description in connection with the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank cut in a particular form to provide an integral bail and collar;

FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of the bail and collar illustrating one means for connecting the free end of the bail to the collar;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the bail and collar illustrating their interlocking feature.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bail and collar of this invention mounted on an intravenous bottle;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a blank modified to form another embodiment of the bail and collar.

Referring to FIG. 1, a strip 11 is shown comprising a blank adapted to form my invention. Strip 11 may be die cut from a resilient tear-resistant sheet material of thin cellulose, vinyl, or other similar material. The thickness of the sheet material is not critical and with respect to vinyl material, a thickness of 0.010 inch has been found to be quite satisfactory. An imaginary dotted line on strip 11 illustrates where a crease 14 is formed in the strap. Thus, crease 14 forms strip 11 into two segments-one of which comprises collar 16, the other segment comprising ball 17.

The length of collar 16 exceeds the circumference of the bottle by a small amount such as one inch in order to provide for free end 19 and slot 20. Slot 20 is shown to be at an angle of 45 to the longitudinal axis of collar 16 which coincides with the longitudinal axis of bail 17. Other slot angles are also suitable but will necessitate having the longitudinal axes of the collar and bail set at an angle in order to keep the assembled bail perpendicular to the collar. However, if the strip 11 is cut with these two axes at an angle there will be additional scrap material wasted. At an intermediate point approximately midway in the collar a pair of oppositely positioned cutouts 22 and 23 are provided, the depth of these cutouts being such that the strength of collar 16 is not significantly weakened.

It is to be noted that at crease 14 the width of the strip decreases to a width that is slightly less than the length of slot 20. For purposes of explanation crease 14 may be considered to divide strip 11 into the collar and bails two connected ends 24 and 25. Thus, end 24 has a diagonal edge 27 cut at 45 and which is parallel to slot 20. A thin cutout portion 29 is provided between the division of collar 16 and bail 17 and on a line extending from edge 27.

Bail 17 has a free end serving as a connecting tab 32 formed by a pair of recesses 33. The length of recesses 33 is such that the width of the material therebetween approximates the width of cutout 23. It is desirable that the width of bail 17 does not exceed the length of diagonal slot 20 in order for it to pass therethrough without being permanently crimped or doubled. However, connecting tab 32 may be larger than slot 20 in order to increase the tabs strength.

The bail and collar of FIG. 1 are assembled on a bottle 36 by positioning the collar about the perimeter of the bottle adjacent its ridge 37 (see FIG. 4). This is accomplished by first inserting ba-il 17, with its connecting tab 32 leading, through diagonal slot 20 adjacent the free end of collar 16. Bail 17 is passed through slot 20 until the cutout portion 29 engages or interlocks with slot 20 (FIGS. 2 and 4). A crease is formed along line 14 and the bail 17 is now perpendicular to collar 16. At this point collar 16 is formed into a loop and may be placed around the intravenous bottle against ridge 37.

Bail 17 is then connected to collar 16 by passing the connecting tab 32 underneath collar 16 adjacent the two cutouts 22 and 23. Since collar 16- is dimensioned to provide a snug fit about bottle 36, an inexperienced assembler might initially have some slight difiiculty in inserting the connecting tab 32 of the bail underneath collar 16. However, cutout 22 on the collar provides an easy entry since corners 39 will be flexed slightly outward. Insertion of connecting tab 32 is achieved by starting its entry underneath one of the extending corners 39. Cutout 23 is used to interlock with the two recesses 33 forming the connecting tab 32 of the bail (FIG. 3).

With the bail and collar now assembled on the bottle the unit can be suspended from a hook by the bail 17. The unit can be shipped in its assembled condition by simply sliding collar 16 toward the neck of bottle 36 until bail 17 is against the bottom of the bottle. Due to the flexibility of the sheet material used the bail can be maintained in a snug condition along the sides of the bottle to provide a compact arrangement for packing.

The modified embodiment of my invention shown in FIG. differs largely in the manner in which connecting tab 32 of bail 17 is connected to collar 16. Similarly to the first embodiment of my invention a cutout 23 is formed on one edge of collar 16. A second cutout 41 is formed within the confines of collar 16 and has an enlarged position 42. To fasten. bail 17 to collar 16 connecting tab 32 is inserted through the enlarged position of 42 of cutout 41 with corners 39 again facilitating entry of the tab. In a manner similar to the first embodiment, recesses 33 of connecting tab 32 are interlocked with cutout 23 on the collar. Inasmuch as the cutout 41 is formed within the confines of collar 16, bail 17 when assembled will be restricted in its lateral movement by the enlarged portion 42. A restricted portion 44 may be formed in bail 17 in order for it to hang more securely on a small hook.

Although only two embodiments of this invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those with skill in the art that other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of this invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An integral bail and collar for bottles formed from resilient tear-resistant sheet material comprising: a flat strip having a diagonally transverse crease dividing said strip into first and second joined segments, said first segment having a slot substantially equal to the length of said crease adjacent its free end diagonally positioned with respect to said strips longitudinal axis adapted to receive said second segment therethrough, said slot being interlocked with said crease and forming said first segment into a loop collar, said second segment extending from said slot perpendicular to said loop collar and having its free end connected to said first segment opposite said slot for forming a bail.

2. An integral bail and collar for bottles according to claim 1 in which the free end of said second segment is removably connected to said first segment by a connecting tab having a recessed portion interlocked with a cutout portion on said first segment.

3. An integral bail and collar for bottles according to claim 2 in which said second segment is maintained between said first segment and the enveloped bottle adjacent its removably connected end.

4. An integral bail and collar for bottles according to claim 3 in which said first segment has an aperture adjacent said cutout portion adapted for receiving said second segment therethrough perpendicularly to said first segment.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,146,334 7/1915 Lehman et a1. 2943l.2 1,600,931 9/ 1921 Chatham 2483 18 1,993,976 3/1935 Nelson 2943l.2 2,970,729 2/1961 Allen 294-3 1.2 X 3,104,788 10/1963 Wood 2943 1.2 X 3,275,366 10/1966 Hidding 29431.2

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner. 

